Ashford and Canterbury parents interested in seeing their teenager have fun while building their confidence, making new friends and learning life skills that can’t be taught in a classroom are advised to encourage their young person to sign up for the National Citizen Service (NCS) autumn 2018 programme. NCS is an open-to-all, unifying experience shared by teens from different backgrounds, which is delivered in south and east Kent by CXK.
Set to start in October half term, the participants spend a few days at an outbound activity centre, developing confidence, business, social and team-working skills. They do this by taking part in adrenaline-fuelled activities ranging from rock climbing and raft building through to abseiling and dragon boat racing. They go on to build valuable life skills such as negotiating, debating and budgeting, learn about local charities and their community, and take part in a detective project or zombie workshop.
During the final part of the experience, the teens return to their local community to put the skills they have learned into practice by designing and developing a social action project, during which they will give back to their community through volunteering and fundraising.
NCS is a flagship government initiative that provides young people aged 15-17 the chance to take on new challenges, experience exciting activities, and make long-lasting friendships. They also develop vital skills that will support them later in life. It was launched to tackle three core issues of importance to society: social cohesion, social mobility and social engagement.
500 young people from across south and east Kent took part in NCS this summer, donating more than 30,000 volunteering hours to local charities and causes.
Almost 400,000 young people have completed the NCS programme to date, giving up an incredible 11.7 million hours to social action projects since NCS started.
Louella Collins, Programme Manager for NCS at CXK, commented: “There’s really no better way to spend £50 this autumn – even a pair of trainers costs more than it does for teens to spend some time away from home meeting new people, experiencing new challenges and, most importantly, building confidence and skills like teamwork, communication and leadership during their school holiday.”
There are still places available for 15 to 17 years to take part in this once in a lifetime opportunity. To sign up, go to ncsyes.co.uk.
